September 20, 2002

Palm Springs is known for its hot weather and the hotter men who party there; and the weekend of September 20 was no exception. That’s when the Los Angeles porn posse ventured to this desert resort town for the second-annual Joey and Carlo Palm Springs Pool Party, which was actually held in neighboring Cathedral City, California. The event helped raise more than $2,000 for the Adult Industry Medical (AIM) HealthCare Foundation, a nonprofit organization created to care for the physical and emotional needs of sex workers and others in the adult-entertainment industry. The weekend festivities included autograph sessions with the stars, a XXX model search hosted by directrix Chi Chi LaRue and funny man Bruce Vilanch, a silent auction, raffles and a bevy of naked porn stars basking in the 115-degree heat.

The three days of events kicked off with an underwear party on Friday night, where guests familiarized themselves with the grounds of the Cathedral City Boys Club, the 3.5-acre spread on which the parties took place. Under an outdoor tent, columnist Jason Sechrest interviewed old-timer Ryan Idol, who revealed that he may sue Odyssey Men, the porn studio that pulled out of producing his Idol Cruise video. Together, they hosted an amateur wet underwear contest.

But Saturday was the main event, when fans could relax by the pool, enjoy the sunshine and catch up with their favorite porn stars. Supercouple Blake Harper and Colton Ford explained that the camera crew following them around was for a Miramax documentary focusing on their lives and burgeoning non-porn careers. We learned that Harper is studying acting at the Lee Strasberg Institute and working on an indie film titled Lost Everything. While Ford, who was a singer before he was a screen stud, is working with producer Frankie Knuckles on his first album and will have a single titled “Everything” dropping in November. They also continue to make porn films and stay at the Live and Raw Hotel, where subscribers on the Internet can follow their every move on 12 live cams. Seems like privacy isn’t that big with these two.

In the air-conditioned VIP room, Caesar, who is bigger than ever, confirmed the November release of Cowboy, his first starring role in more than a year. Fellow bodybuilder and co-star Tom Katt was there too, fresh from shooting a scene in Ken Ryker’s self-written/produced/directed film. Superhung Spike revealed that he’s taking a break from the porn world to work on his art but is checking into the Live and Raw Hotel in October to room with Blake and Colton. Sounds cozy to us. Chi Chi LaRue plugged the release of her latest for Channel One Releasing, 2nd Gear, the sequel to In Gear starring (who else?) Lance Gear. The diva also expressed surprise about seeing her picture in the September issue of Vanity Fair. The bitch has arrived!

Director Drew Warner of Sports and Recreation Video proudly introduced his sexy new discoveries, lovers Matthew Faulkner and Nate Bater, to an eager crowd. These cuties star in Warner’s amateur CornFedBoyz video line. Boston boy Anthony Holloway told us that he has just moved from the East Coast to take up residence in West Hollywood with boyfriend Brad Rudolph. He has also filmed a new movie for director Paul Barresi’s Regiment Studios titled Bad Boys, Volume 4.

Also seen: Dino Phillips, who had hosted Derek Cameron the previous night at “Cocktails with the Stars” at Micky’s; Flex-Deon Blake, who has moved to L.A. following his break-up with Bobby Blake; tattooed newbie Rhett O’Hara, who reminisced about his days working as director Blue Blake’s chauffeur and chef before he was discovered for films; Chris Green, who was talking up his Web site and single “Drive” from 2nd Gear. We also heard that New York queen CoCo LaChine has accepted a job as director of operations for All Worlds Video and is relocating to San Diego to work for the major porn studio. She’ll be missed!

A hangover barbecue on Sunday afternoon hosted by Michael Brandon brought the weekend to a close as many of the stars prepared to return to L.A. But event co-founders Joey Di Bartolo and Carlo Ricci seemed pleased with their efforts. “Our site promotes sex workers and focuses on the adult industry,” said Ricci, “so we figured this would be a good event for us to promote. We wanted to help AIM, which is a great organization. I think the fans and porn stars all had a good time.”Reprinted from HX magazine (2002)

September 7, 2002

Everybody’s talking about Rhett O’Hara. This 22-year-old California native is on the lips of many of West Hollywood’s top porn power players. Talent agent David Forest, who now represents the French/Puerto Rican/Greek stunner, recalls the first time he glimpsed O’Hara. “I was at [porn director] Chi Chi LaRue’s birthday bash last year,” he says, “and I knew that this young man was a star. He had a gorgeous face, which really is the key to ultimate superstardom in the XXX world.” Forest didn’t actually hook up with O’Hara until several months later, when Rhett called him at the suggestion of porn-star-turned-director Blue Blake. “When we finally met,” Forest says, “I was just as impressed as I had been when I first laid eyes on Rhett.”

The beefy Blake couldn’t agree more. “This kid is gonna be huge,” he booms in his trademark British accent. Blake is also partially responsible for O’Hara’s sudden rise. “Rhett was originally my chef and chauffeur,” Blake says. “One day, he was sitting by my pool and I noticed what an enormous cock he had. I said, ‘You should star in films!’ ” So he did. Blake rushed to cast O’Hara in his first movies, and he even dreamed up his soon-to-be-famous nom de porn. “Yep, I gave him his name,” Blake laughs. “He’s a good ole Southern boy with a good ole Southern name. Plus, he’s as sweet as a mint julep and twice as tasty.”

Porn columnist Jason Sechrest, of www.jasoncurious.com fame, is also an unabashed fan. “I see more potential in this stud than any newcomer I’ve met in recent years,” he gushes. “I’ve never seen so much talk about a newcomer. Everyone has an opinion about this boy. They either love the name or they hate the name. They love the tats or they hate the tats. Either way, everyone has an opinion, and everyone can’t stop talking about him.”

Let’s get the vital statistics out of the way: This supercute Virgo was born on September 14, 1980, and raised in the South, which explains his slight accent. He stands at 5 foot 9, weighs 175 pounds, has dirty-blond hair and blue eyes. His essential member measures 8 inches, is cut and comes in an extra-wide size. He has topped in all of his films and also enjoys performing oral when the occasion arises. When he’s not busy making porn, O’Hara likes shooting pool, hitting local clubs and bars, going to the movies and jerking off—and not necessarily in that order.

O’Hara began his porn career last year with MSR Video’s Road Trip and several movies for Big Blue Productions, including Hard as Rock, Straight Bodybuilders Do and Cowboy (in which he serviced superstar Caesar). Blake certainly likes what he sees in his discovery; he has already cast O’Hara in his next two projects, Muscle Penitentiary and Duke Miller’s Lumberjack Gang Bang, both of which will be shot soon. The tattooed muscleboy will also film a shower orgy for MSR’s First Crush and work with director Doug Jeffries on his first movie for Studio 2000.

So what does up-and-comer O’Hara have to say for himself? “I’m liking this very much,” he admits. “People have been exceptional to me, and I look forward to fulfilling more fantasies.” O’Hara adds that having hard-core sex on-screen is his favorite thing to do. “The foreplay’s cool, but fucking is the best,” he says with a laugh. O’Hara is also a man with a plan. “I hope to be a superstar who has some longevity in this business,” he says.

From the way this boy has got tongues wagging (and salivating), you can bet on it!

About Vincent Lambert

Vincent Lambert is a New York–based journalist, blogger and photographer who has covered the adult-entertainment industry since 1996. He has written for numerous publications, including Adult Video News, GAYVN, XBIZ, Adam Gay Film & Video Directory, Unzipped, Freshmen, Men, Latin Inches, Black Inches, All-Man, Manshots, Inside Porn and HX. Lambert has interviewed some of gay porn’s brightest stars—such as Jeff Stryker, Ryan Idol and Zeb Atlas—and reported on a variety of events, including Will Clark’s Bad Boys Pool Party and the Gay Erotic Expo. He also served as a judge for the GAYVN Awards for 12 years. In 2006, Lambert stepped behind the camera to write and direct his first scene, titled “Sex Party for Two,” for Lucas Entertainment’s “Encounters 2: The Point of No Return.” In 2007, he created his popular site VincentLambert.com, which features news, gossip and information. His short stories appear in three books from German publisher Bruno Gmünder. E-mail him at VincentLambertNYC@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @VinceLambertNYC.